Sandra Faber, a UC Santa Cruz astronomy and astrophysics professor renowned for her work charting the properties of galaxies, has been awarded a National Medal of Science.

President Obama on Friday named Faber and other researchers who will receive that medal and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, considered the U.S. government's highest awards for scientists, engineers and inventors.

Faber is one of the "seven Samurai" of scientists who have changed the world's understanding of how galaxies are shaped and interact, said Andrew Fraknoi, chairman of the astronomy department at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills.

She leads a Hubble Space Telescope project designed to give scientists a view of galaxy formation nearly as far back as the Big Bang.

"I can't think of someone who deserves it more," Fraknoi said.

In a statement released by UC Santa Cruz, Faber - recently named interim director of UC Observatories - called the award "the thrill of a lifetime."